Contents

Understand

Bethesda was a quiet suburb until 1984, when the Metro Red Line was extended. This brought an explosion of growth, and many high rise office and apartment buildings were built. Bethesda became the major suburban destination in Maryland for wining and dining, and is much more family-friendly than anywhere in D.C. itself. In 2009, Bethesda was ranked #1 in Forbes' list of most educated towns, #1 in CNN Money's list of highest earning towns, and #1 Total Beauty's Hottest-Guy Cities.

Get in

Downtown Bethesda

By metro

The Bethesda Metro Station is served by Washington, D.C. Metro Red Line and is located at the intersection of Wisconsin Ave and Old Georgetown Road.

By bus

Tripper Bus, [2], . Service to New York's Penn Station. Pickup/dropoff near the Metro stations in Bethesda and Rosslyn. $25.

Vamoose Bus, [3], ☎ +1 301 718-0036. Service to New York's Penn Station. Pickup/dropoff near the Metro stations in Bethesda and Rosslyn. $30, +free ticket with every four.

By car

Parking is usually only available in the garages [4], which start at $1 per hour.

By bicycle

The Capital Crescent Trail [5] passes through Bethesda, and provides a bike trail from Georgetown to Silver Spring. Between Bethesda and Georgetown the trail is smooth asphalt suitable for rollerblading, while from Bethesda to Silver Spring is currently loose gravel.

Get around

By bus

The free Bethesda circulator [6] will take you around downtown Bethesda. It runs every ten minutes M-Th 7AM-midnight, F 7AM-2AM, Sa 6PM-2AM. You'll know it right away since it's mocked up like a trolley.

By foot

You can just walk around downtown Bethesda—it's not so big.

By car

Traveling around greater Bethesda (outside of the downtown area) is difficult if you don't have a car.

See

Madonna of the Trail

Bethesda is not known for its sights; it's known for its restaurants and bars. Nonetheless, you might be interested to see:

The National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike (north on Wisconsin), [7]. The mammoth collection of buildings housing the majority of the nation's government bio-research. Consequently, the grounds have been pretty much off-limits to non-employees since the 9/11 attacks and the ensuing anthrax mailings, since there are worries about the security of the bio-weapons research programs here. But the view from Wisconsin Ave of the main building is plenty impressive. If you see a helicopter landing on that main building, it's probably the president or one of the top cabinet officials—this is where they get their repairs.

The Madonna of the Trail statue, Wisconsin Ave & Old Georgetown Rd. The Madonna of the Trail is a sixteen foot monument to the benighted wives who were dragged out west to extreme hardship and poverty in the wild by their adventurous pioneer husbands.

Do

Strathmore Hall (The Music Center at Strathmore), 5301 Tuckerman Lane North Bethesda, MD 20852-3385, ☎(301) 581-5100, [8]. A fantastic hall for seeing concerts because of its state-of-the-art acoustics and great seating. Even the last row has great sound and viewing lines. Check the schedule to find everything from classical music symphonies to rock concerts to kids music performances. The Metro Red Line "Grosvenor-Strathmore" station is adjacent to the facility.

Bethesda Outdoor Movies, Woodmont Triangle, Corner of Norfolk & Auburn Avenues. 9PM daily. Five nights of free outdoor movies, usually very family friendly. Check website for exact dates and to see which movies are playing.Free.

Taste of Bethesda, [10]. Early October, 11AM-4PM. The taste of Bethesda is the biggest festival of the year, when people from all over the area come to sample Bethesda's restaurant offerings and to enjoy big free concerts. A pack of 4 taste tickets costs $5, and restaurants will give you a food serving for 1-3 tickets. A ton of restaurants participate, and Bethesda's restaurants are good!

Buy

Daddy and Son Camiceria Italiana, 4836 Bethesda Ave, ☎+1 301 652-0595, [12]. M-Sa 10AM-9PM, Su noon-5PM. The one U.S. location of the famous Italian men's boutique is in Bethesda, and it's a great place to find tasteful, designer silk ties, as well as shirts, slacks, sweaters, etc. Particularly geared towards younger men.

Shopping Malls

Eat

Bethesda has about 180 restaurants. It is known throughout the Washington D.C. area for the abundance of restaurants in the downtown area.

Bangkok Garden, 4906 St. Elmo Ave., ☎+1 301 951-0670, [15]. This Thai restaurant is one of the best in the D.C. area. It has relatively inexpensive food served in a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Bethesda Crab House, 4958 Bethesda Ave, ☎+1 301 652-3382, [16]. 9AM-11PM daily. What better reason to cross the District line into Maryland than a Maryland crab feast! This is not a nice restaurant, it is a crab shack that somehow made its way into Bethesda, with the brown paper on the table, buckets of crabs, tons of Old Bay seasoning, and a lot of messy patrons.$20-40; all-you-can-eat crab feast: $35/person.

Jaleo, 7271 Woodmont Ave, ☎+1 301 913-0003, [17]. Su-Th 11:30AM-10PM, F-Sa 11:30AM-midnight. José Andrés' excursion to Bethesda brings the same excellent modern takes on Spanish tapas and the same excellent sherry and port lists. While extremely popular, this location is big enough where you can get a table without reservations.$20-40.

Passage to India, 4931 Cordell Ave, ☎+1 301 656-3373, [19]. 11:30AM-2:30PM, 5:30PM-10PM daily. The often fiery cuisine here is some of the best Indian food you'll find anywhere in the metro area, and it's also attractive, rather quiet, and has reliably excellent service. If you are up for a challenge, try to finish one of their vindaloos without asking them to dull down the spice level.$16-30.

Raku, 7240 Woodmont Ave, ☎+1 202 718-8680, [20]. Lunch: M-F 11:30AM-2:30PM, Sa-Su noon-3PM; dinner: Su-Th 5PM-10PM, F-Sa 5PM-10:30PM. Arguably the best Asian food in Bethesda. It's kid-friendly and rather noisy, but the food is made with incredibly fresh, high quality ingredients, and will not likely disappoint. Very popular so make a reservation or get there early.$11-35.

South Street Steaks, 4856 Cordell Ave, ☎+1 301 215-7972, [21]. Su-Th 11AM-9PM, F-Sa 11AM-3AM. Philly cheesesteaks. No, really: authentic Philly cheesesteaks on Amoroso rolls, right here at a sit-down eatery in Bethesda, and they taste like you got them right out of Geno's window in Philadelphia. If you're not from Philadelphia, you can look like you are in the know by ordering a "nine (or twelve) inch whiz wit." Don't worry, they'll understand that, you won't look silly, and you'll get your cheesesteak with the traditional cheese whiz and grilled onions. In addition to legit Philly cheesesteaks and late hours, this eatery draws customers with a bunch of specialty subs, like the missteak, a monstruous sub stuffed with 1 lb steak, 8 pieces bacon, pepperoni, fries, and three types of cheese (feeds up to four).$7-16.

Tastee Diner, 7731 Woodmont Ave, ☎+1 301 652-3970, [22]. 24 hours daily. Looking for the true American diner experience with greasy spoons and waitresses with too much eye shadow? How about cheap eats any time of day or night? Look no further than the tried-and-true Tastee Diner to serve your needs. Indeed, this might be the most dineresque diner in the D.C. area.$3-11.

Drink

Black's Bar & Grill, 7750 Woodmont Ave, ☎+1 301 652-6278. M-Th 11:30AM-midnight, F 11:30AM-1AM, Sa noon-1AM, Su noon-10PM. This is one of Bethesda's trendiest spaces, and it's a very nice place for a few drinks with some oysters on the half shell, particularly during happy hour (M-F 4PM-7PM), when there are good deals to be had on both the oysters and the drinks. For wine lovers, either Black's or nearby Grapeseed Bistro & Wine Bar (4865 Cordell Ave ) has the best wine list in Bethesda. It can get very crowded around meal times—make reservations.

Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle Pub, [26]. Good Irish pub with all the beer and food you'd expect.

Ri Ra Irish Pub, 4931 Elm St, ☎+1 301 657-1122, [27]. It's a fake Irish pub national chain, but it's nonetheless a great place for a properly poured pint of Guiness, as well as some great oysters on the half shell. The interior is beautiful, and packed with the khaki trousered Bethesda crowd.

Rock Bottom Brewery, 7900 Norfolk Ave, ☎+1 301 652-1311, [28]. Su-Th 11AM-1AM, F-Sa 11AM-2AM. The food is fine, but this small but national chain is best visited for the excellent beers on tap, which can be ordered in sampling glasses. DJs show up F-Sa nights, but this isn't really the sort of place for that. Great people watching from the outdoor seating in good weather.

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!